advice, thoughts, and discussion

Kids and the Christian Worldview

James Sire, author of The Universe Next Door, tells a story that helps explain worldviews and kids. The story goes something like this:

A boy came home one day and asked his father, “What holds up the world, Dad?”

The father answered with a storybook reply, “A camel holds up the world, son.”

But the next day the boy was back. “Dad, if a camel holds up the world, what holds up the camel?” The father answered quickly, “A kangaroo.”

Soon, the son returned. “Dad, what holds up the kangaroo?” Knowing he was now in trouble, the father said emphatically, “An elephant!”

“Come on, Dad, what holds up the elephant?”

Exasperated, the father blurted, “It’s . . . it’s elephant — all the way down!”

Besides illustrating that kids never stop asking questions, the story shows that when a parent doesn’t answer thoughtfully or replies flippantly, it doesn’t eliminate a child’s curiosity. Tough questions shouldn’t be avoided. In fact, they offer some of the best opportunities to teach a Christian worldview.

A worldview is “the framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world.” The best tool we can give our children is to teach them how to accurately make sense of life.

Some things that need to be clarified in a child’s life are:

1.) What is really real?

2.) Why do bad and difficult things have to happen?

3.) What are we supposed to do?

I know many kids go through a rough time with their faith when they hit their pre-teen and teenage years. I’ve oftentimes wondered why some kids brought up in Christian homes have these issues and why some of them don’t. After all, I know most Christian families stick pretty closely to Proverbs 22:6 – “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Right?

What if, just as much as teaching a child what the word of God says and how to act it out…we actually taught children how to have a Christian worldview?